The United States should immediately stop politicizing, instrumentalizing and weaponizing trade and technological issues, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Wednesday. Lin made the remarks after the US reportedly held off on adding Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, memory chipmaker CXMT and more than 100 other companies flagged as national security risks to a trade blacklist, a move seen as an effort to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing. Beijing has always opposed Washington’s over-stretching of the concept of national security and its abuse of export control tools, such as the entity list, to maliciously suppress Chinese enterprises, Lin told a…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has overtaken Amazon to become the world’s fifth most valuable company after a surge in its share price. Days after joining New York’s tech-focused Nasdaq stock exchange in the biggest public listing ever, its share price has risen by more than 50%. It leaves Musk’s rocket company worth about $2.78tn (£2.1tn), while Jeff Bezos’s sprawling online retail and media empire is currently worth about $2.66tn. The boom in SpaceX’s value came as it announced it was buying AI coding start-up Cursor for $60bn. SpaceX said it would take over Anysphere, Cursor’s parent company, which makes the artificial…
The United States and Iran have reached an agreement to end the Middle East war that began on February 28 and has lasted for more than 100 days. “The deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post. U.S. and Pakistani mediators stated that the agreement will be formally signed on Friday, June 19, 2026, in Geneva, Switzerland, following a series of pre-implementation meetings. “We would like to thank the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to…
Kenya’s economy racked in $12.7 billion in 2025 from travel and tourism despite a tough local and global economic challenges, representing 9.3% of national GDP. The sector also supported 1.8 million jobs, equivalent to 8.3% of total employment. According to a research by the Economic Impact Research (EIR), Kenya’s performance in the sector is part of a broader continental shift, with T&T outperforming the wider economy and positioning Africa among the world’s fastest-growing tourism regions in 2026. Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum in Nairobi on Monday, Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said Africa is among the fastest-growing tourism regions…
Cashew nuts produced in African countries with diplomatic relations with China now have access to the Chinese market if they meet a unified set of inspection, quarantine and sanitary requirements, China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) has announced. Access for the grower nations began from June 9. Africa is the world’s largest supplier of cashew nuts. Previously, only a few African countries, including Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Gambia, had obtained quarantine access for their cashew exports to China. According to the GAC, assessments found that pest and disease risks associated with cashew production are broadly similar across Africa, allowing China to…
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is seeking greater flexibility in supporting financially distressed banks through proposed legal changes that would allow it to extend emergency loans for longer periods and remove existing lending limits. The proposed amendments, contained in the CBK (Amendment) Bill, 2026, would strengthen the regulator’s ability to provide liquidity support to commercial and microfinance banks facing temporary financial pressure, provided their difficulties are not linked to mismanagement. Under the proposed law, the CBK would be allowed to extend emergency loans beyond the current six-month period, with facilities lasting up to 12 months and no longer at…
By Daniel Kamau Kenya Airways (KQ) seeks to strengthen its cargo business as it expands intra-African connectivity by increasing its aircraft count. The planned fleet expansion is set to double its aircraft count to 100 by 2035, positioning Nairobi as a leading aviation hub on the continent. Speaking on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Kenya Airways Interim CEO and Chair of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), George Kamal, said the airline aims to grow its current fleet of 42 aircraft to 60 by 2030 before reaching the 100-aircraft mark…
By Daniel Kamau Family Bank is set to list its shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on June 23, 2026, after receiving formal approval from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). The mid-tier lender will list 1.66 billion shares by way of introduction, currently owned by 6,345 shareholders, meaning the bank will not raise additional capital through the listing. The listing is expected to improve liquidity for existing shareholders and broaden investor participation in the lender moving forward. The bank’s Managing Director, Nancy Njau, stated: “Our vision to positively transform the lives of people in Africa has remained unchanged, and…
By Daniel Kamau The government’s plan to sell data collected by eCitizen and other state agencies has sparked debate over privacy concerns versus the value of information in the digital economy. While officials see the initiative as a new frontier for Kenya’s digital economy, critics argue that issues of privacy, consent, and the state’s capacity to safeguard citizen data must be carefully addressed. According to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, the proposed marketplace would only trade in non-personal, anonymised and aggregated data, excluding information that can directly identify individuals. The policy, developed under the leadership of…
By Regan Oluoch President William Ruto has sought to position Kenya as a leading destination for trade and investment during his visit to Europe, while also pushing for stronger access for Kenyan products in the European Union market. Addressing business leaders in Belgium, Ruto said Kenya is positioning itself as a regional hub for agriculture, technology and logistics, with the government keen on attracting new investors and expanding export opportunities. He noted that Kenya serves as a gateway to a market of more than 1.4 billion people under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), valued at about $3.4 trillion.…
